This invention relates to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), also referred to as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging, and more particularly, to methods and compositions for enhancing magnetic resonance images of body organs and tissues.
The recently developed techniques of MRI or NMR imaging encompasses the detection of certain atomic nuclei utilizing magnetic fields and radio-frequency radiation. It is similar in some respects to x-ray computed tomography (CT) in providing a cross-sectional display of the body organ anatomy with excellent resolution of soft tissue detail. In current use, the images produced constitute a map of the distribution density of protons and/or their relaxation times in organs and tissues. The MRI technique is advantageously non-invasive as it avoids the use of ionizing radiation.
While the phenomenon of NMR was discovered in 1945, it is only relatively recently that it has found application as a means of mapping the internal structure of the body as a result of the original suggestion of Lauterbur (Nature, 242, 190-191, 1973). The lack of any known hazard associated with the level of the magnetic and radio-frequency fields that are employed renders it possible to make repeated scans on vulnerable individuals. Additionally, any scan plane can readily be selected including transverse, coronal, and sagittal sections.
In an NMR experiment, the nuclei under study in a sample (e.g. protons) are irradiated with the appropriate radio-frequency (RF) energy in a highly uniform magnetic field. These nuclei as they relax subsequently emit RF radiation at a sharp resonant frequency. The emitted frequency (RF) of the nuclei depends on the applied magnetic field.
According to known principles, nuclei with appropriate spin when placed in an applied magnetic field [B, expressed generally in units of gauss or tesla (10.sup.4 gauss)] align in the direction of the field. In the case of protons, these nuclei precess at a frequency f=42.6 MHz at a field strength of 1 Tesla. At this frequency, an RF pulse of radiation will excite the nuclei and can be considered to tip the nuclei out of the field direction, the extent of this rotation being determined by the pulse duration and energy. After the RF pulse, the nuclei "relax" or return to equilibrium with the magnetic field, emitting radiation at the resonant frequency. The decay of the signal is characterized by two relaxation times, i.e., T.sub.1, the spin-lattice relaxation time or longitudinal relaxation time, that is, time taken by the nuclei to return to equilibrium along the direction of the externally applied magnetic field, and T.sub.2, the spin-spin relaxation time associated with the dephasing of the initially coherent precession of individual proton spins. These relaxation times have been established for various fluids, organs and tissues in different species of mammals.
In MRI, scanning planes and slice thickness can be selected without loss of resolution. This permits high quality transverse, coronal and sagittal images to be obtained directly. The absence of any moving parts in MRI equipment promotes a high reliability. It is believed that MRI or NMR imaging has a greater potential than CT for the selective examination of tissue characteristics in view of the fact that in CT, x-ray attenuation coefficients alone determine image contrast whereas at least four separate variables (T.sub.1, T.sub.2, nuclear spin density and flow) may contribute to the NMR signal. For example, it has been shown (Damadian, Science, 171, 1151, 1971) that the values of the T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 relaxation in tissues are generally longer by about a factor of 2 in excised specimens of neoplastic tissue compared with the host tissue.
By reason of its sensitivity to subtle physio-chemical differences between organs and/or tissues, it is believed that MRI may be capable of differentiating tissue types and in detecting diseases which induce physio-chemical changes that may not be detected by x-ray or CT which are only sensitive to differences in the electron density of tissue. The images obtainable by MRI techniques also enable the physician to detect structures smaller than those detectable by CT and thereby provide comparable or better spatial resolution.
Continuing efforts are being made to develop imaging agents for enhancing the images obtained through the use of MRI techniques.